What Tennessee’s PEACE Act means for free speech

A new Tennessee law with the unassuming acronym “PEACE” might appear, on the surface, to be a mundane update to the state’s criminal code. But tucked into the legislation’s language is a clear and deliberate threat to the First Amendment freedoms of Tennesseans. 

On Friday, Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 30, the Protecting Everyone Against Crime and Extremism Act (PEACE Act).The law makes it a criminal offense to leave “unsolicited flyers” on public or private property, hang signs from overpasses and bridges, ride in the back of a box truck, refuse to give one’s name or give a false name to law enforcement, and approach within 25 feet of an officer after being ordered to stop or retreat...